The invention relates to an oven structure and associated method of cooking especially designed for mass cooking of food products. More particularly, the invention is directed to an oven construction and cooking method for large production cooking wherein the food products are continuously transported in a spiral vertically ascending path through a cooking chamber to effect slow thorough cooking of the food products.
For mass cooking of food products such as in industrial cooking operations, various oven structures have been developed and are known to include a conveyor means which are formed in a spiral path for continuously conveying food product through a cooking chamber.
In such prior art cooking ovens, which are used for mass production of cooked food products and having a spiral conveyance path within a cooking chamber, there have been found to be associated problems with cooking efficiency, output of the oven, adaptability to a variety of food products, the inability to achieve various surface treatments of the food products, cleanability as well as other problems. The ability for food products to be cooked thoroughly while keeping dwell time in the cooking chamber of the oven to a minimum for adequate output from the oven is inhibited to some degree by the conveyor means utilized in these prior ovens. The conveyor systems have normally included a spiral supporting path on which an endless conveyor belt is supported and transported by suitable conveyor driving means. Steam heat utilized in the cooking chamber of the oven is merely introduced into the cooking chamber and is not effectively circulated within the cooking chamber.
Thus, in these prior oven systems, efficient and effective heat transfer in the cooking chamber is inhibited by non-circulation of the cooking medium and the consumption of energy to heat the conveyor belt's supporting structure may be significant. Additionally, although some cleaning systems have been provided in the prior art cooking ovens, a problem still exists in that the structure of these ovens require extensive and thorough cleaning of all interior surfaces of the cooking chamber including the conveyor belt supporting structure which may not be able to be achieved efficiently and quickly to maintain cost effective production of cooked food products. It is additionally found that the prior art systems have no means for obtaining surface treatment of the food products as they pass through the cooking chamber of the oven and have resorted to separate equipment to provide surface treatments such as browning, crisping, or other desirable features.